FAQ pages:
Activation is a quick and easy process to validate your license and remove Aid4Mail from Trial Mode.
For most licenses, Aid4Mail needs to be activated online. However, for Aid4Mail eDiscovery licenses, and some Aid4Mail Console licenses, an offline activation option is also available.
Aid4Mail uses a license activation system to help prevent piracy and protect your investment in our software. This enables us to continue developing Aid4Mail at a competitive price.
For an answer to this question, please see Software Piracy.
The activation system is managed by software_DNA from softWORKZ Innovation Inc.
No, it does not collect any details about you or your computer although you may optionally enter your email address for easy password retrieval.
Aid4Mail needs to be activated for the first time once you have purchased a license.
Once activated, Aid4Mail will remain so unless any of the following situations are encountered, in which case it will revert to Trial Mode and need to be re-activated:
Note that if your license subscription has expired, you will need to renew it or purchase a new license before re-activating Aid4Mail. License renewal is charged at 50% of the original license price.
For most Aid4Mail licenses, activation is carried out online and requires an Internet connection. However for Aid4Mail eDiscovery licenses, and some Aid4Mail Console licenses, an offline activation option is available.
Note that when Aid4Mail is activated online, it will also check the license status at least once a month, again requiring an internet connection. Don't worry if you don't use Aid4Mail that often, or if you don't have a regular internet connection. In these cases, Aid4Mail will simply revert to Trial Mode until you can re-activate online.
Unlike other activation systems, Aid4Mail's online activation does not tie your license to your hardware. Instead it ties your license is your activation code and the password that you define. This makes it easy to re-activate Aid4Mail after reformatting your hard drive, upgrading hardware components in your computer, logging in under a different user profile, or moving your software to a new computer.
Note that the Aid4Mail License Agreement allows the software to be moved from an old computer to a new one that replaces it. However it does not allow a license to be re-activated on a different computer or user account (e.g. Windows logon) in order to access another person's mail.
Activating Aid4Mail online is quick and simple and requires an Internet connection.
To activate Aid4Mail online for the first time:
Once Aid4Mail has been successfully activated online, it will need to be re-activated in certain situations. Re-activation is quick and simple and requires an Internet connection.
To re-activate Aid4Mail online:
On the next screen, enter your current password. Note that it is CASE SENSITIVE.
If you cannot remember your current password, click on the "Forgot Password?" button and your password will be sent to you (as long as you have previously specified an email address). If it does not arrive within minutes, check your junk mail folder in case it was misidentified as spam. You should ensure that your spam filter allows emails from softworkz.com.
software_DNA then checks online that the activation code and your password match the information on the server. If the match is successful, Aid4Mail is re-activated and the new password is stored on the license server, replacing the current one. If the match is unsuccessful, re-activation fails and you must retry. The number of failed password attempts allowed is limited, as is the number of re-activations in a given time period. Exceeding these limits can result in a lockout.
Note that to ensure the re-activation procedure is as quick and simple as possible, we strongly suggest you keep a record of your current password and any previous passwords you have used in Aid4Mail (because new passwords must not have been used before). It is preferable to keep this list off your computer so that you do not lose it if your hard disk fails.
Offline activation and re-activation are available for Aid4Mail eDiscovery customers who need to work on a computer that has restricted or no access to Internet. They are also available for some Aid4Mail Console licenses. Offline activation ties your license to the hardware signature of the offline computer.
For Aid4Mail eDiscovery Forensic customers, offline activation and re-activation is free of charge, and can be set up by the user. For the other Aid4Mail eDiscovery licenses, offline activation is available on request and needs to be set up by our customer support staff. There is no charge for initial activation but subsequent re-activations require payment of a service fee. Please contact us for instructions on how to set up offline activation.
To ensure compliance with the Aid4Mail License Agreement, the number of re-activations allowed in a given time period is limited. If this limit is exceeded, the activation server will lock your code and you must wait before being allowed to reactivate. Too many failed password attempts can also result in a lockout to protect your code from theft. The system also includes an anti-fraud system that disables activation codes in cases of credit-card chargeback or refunds.
Note that the License Agreement allows Aid4Mail to be moved from an old computer to a new one that replaces it. However it does not allow a license to be re-activated on a different computer or user account (e.g. Windows logon) in order to access another person's mail.
If you are in lockout mode because of too many re-activations, please read the Aid4Mail License Agreement to ensure that you are complying to its terms.
The most typical reason is one or more firewall programs (Norton, Zone Alarm, Windows Firewall) are blocking Aid4Mail's access to the Internet. Make sure that all your firewalls allow both Aid4Mail.exe and DNA.dll to reach the activation server. If you are accessing the Internet through a Proxy server and you've configured the Aid4Mail proxy settings, make sure these are valid. If you are not using Internet Explorer as your browser, it may be configured with invalid proxy settings; unchecking the "Use IE proxy configuration" option in the Proxy Settings screen could help resolve the connection issue.
It is also possible that a connection fails because of heavy Internet traffic. The only solution in this case is to wait 15 minutes or more and then repeat the activation procedure.
Important: If you are using Windows Firewall and Aid4Mail cannot reach the license server, make sure that you uncheck the option labeled "Block all incoming connections" (Windows Vista) or "Don't allow exceptions" (Windows XP); you will find the option in the Windows Firewall settings window which opens from the Control Panel. If this setting is enabled, you are not notified when Windows Firewall blocks programs, and programs on the Exceptions list are ignored.
A "proxy server" is typically used to block access to the Internet by Local Area Network (LAN) users unless they are authenticated with a user name and password. If Aid4Mail resides behind a proxy server then Internet access will also be blocked for the license activation system. In this case, Aid4Mail must know the proxy server settings in order to work. These include the server name or address, the server port number, user name, and password.
You can access Aid4Mail's "Proxy Settings" as follows:
On the "Proxy Settings" dialog, if "Use IE proxy configuration" is checked and "Use custom proxy settings" is not checked, then software_DNA will automatically use the proxy settings of Internet Explorer including any automatic configuration scripts. As long as Internet Explorer has connectivity to the Internet (i.e. any required proxy settings are correct) then software_DNA will function properly.
You should only set the "Use custom proxy settings" option, and fill in the proxy fields, if "Use IE proxy configuration" doesn't work on your system.
No. Version 2 of Aid4Mail uses different activation codes from version 1.
If you have a valid license for Aid4Mail version 1, you can benefit from a significant upgrade discount when purchasing a corresponding version 2 license. Visit our upgrade page for more details.
You may need to specify an exemption for Aid4Mail under the Data Execution Prevention (DEP) settings. This will allow Aid4Mail to both activate its license in the first place and run subsequently.
Click on the "Forgot Password?" button in the Activation dialog box, which appears on the screen after you enter your activation code. Your password will then be sent to the email address you entered when you first activated your license. If the email doesn't reach you within minutes, check your junk mailbox in case it was misidentified as spam.
Note that this feature will only work if you supplied your email address when you first activated your license. If you chose not to provide an email address during activation, then it is your responsibility to keep track of your current password.
Searching for lost activation codes and passwords can be a time consuming process. To partially cover our search costs, we charge a small $5.00 US fee for this service. Please purchase a "Search & Resend Registration Details" service option to have us recover your lost details.
The most common reason for this is a spelling mistake in your password. Note that passwords are case-sensitive so using the wrong case for a character is considered a spelling mistake. For example "ub78rt" is not the same password as "Ub78rt" (note the difference in case of the first characters, 'u' and 'U'). Make sure that your Caps Lock key is not turned on when you enter your password.
Ensure that you are entering your "Current" and "New" passwords in the correct fields. The "New" password must not have been used before in Aid4Mail. We advise customers to keep a list of the passwords they use in Aid4Mail to avoid reusing them accidentally.
In some rare cases when Internet traffic is high, the connection to the license server may time out. When this happens, Aid4Mail may display the Activation screen instead of the Re-activation screen. The solution is to wait (15 minutes or more) and try again later.
This information is useful if Aid4Mail is installed on a computer whose access to the internet is blocked by a firewall. In this case the firewall settings can be set to permit outbound access only to the activation server. You may need the following:
Yes. You will simply need to re-activate your license.
With online activation, your license is not tied to your hardware. Re-activation is a simple process that will quickly get your software fully operational again. With offline activation, the re-activation procedure depends on which license of Aid4Mail you have.
Instructions:
Note that the copy of Aid4Mail on your previous computer will automatically revert to trial mode when you re-activate your license on another computer.
The Aid4Mail program simply reverts to trial mode. This does not affect any of the files you created during the subscription period. If you have an annual subscription, you will have the option to renew it at a 50% discount over the regular price.